Foster Parent Patrick Kennedy Charged With Murder In Death Of 7wo

[PerfectChaos]

​

A Rantoul man accused of causing the death of an infant in his care is due back in court May 6.

Patrick Kennedy, 35, of the 400 block of East Belle Avenue, was arraigned Friday by Judge Jeff Ford on a single count of first-degree murder alleging that he hit or shook 7-week-old Daniel Lindholm-Wilkins so violently that the child suffered bleeding in the brain that led to his death.
[...]
The infant was taken to Carle Foundation Hospital where doctors found injuries that Rietz said were inconsistent with explanations that Kennedy gave for how he could have received them. In addition to bleeding in the brain, Daniel suffered rib fractures on his side, she said.

Daniel died on Wednesday.

Rietz said Kennedy's wife was not home at the time the child was injured.
[...]
If convicted of murder, he faces a mandatory prison term of 20 to 60 years.

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2014-04-25/rantoul-man-arraigned-infant-murder.html

Daniel was a foster child in the care of Kennedy and his wife and had been with them since his birth, Rietz said.

The child was taken from his biological mother at birth because of her ongoing relationship with a sexual predator, Rietz said.
[...]

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2014-04-24/foster-parent-charged-death-7-week-old-child.html

 

[Britefutr]

Just horrifying. This really turned my stomach. Poor little thing. Rest in peace baby Daniel.

I hope more information comes out on his background. There are so many great foster families out there. But it only takes a few like this guy to make them all seem like the stuff of horror films.

 

[kitcatmcgee]

God, that poor baby was damned no matter where it was

 

[Roberte]

taken from his biological mother at birth because of her ongoing relationship with a sexual predator

Sounds like she chose being with the sexual predator rather than raise her son, I hope not. 20 to 60 years is not long enough for this scumbag. LWOP be better. Or death, but only if it was immediately carried out.

 

[Forensicwx]

Judge rejects plea in child abuse death

URBANA — A Champaign County judge Friday rejected as too light a proposed plea agreement for a Rantoul man accused of the murder of an infant foster child in his care.

Patrick Kennedy, 36, of the 400 block of East Belle Avenue, appeared before Judge Heidi Ladd with his attorney, Baku Patel of Urbana, and tried to plead guilty to a reduced charge of aggravated battery to a child for the death a year ago of Daniel Lindholm-Wilkins, 7 weeks.

The proposed sentence was 15 years in prison. Kennedy would have had to serve 85 percent, or just under 13 years, in prison.

State’s Attorney Julia Rietz was prepared to dismiss the first-degree murder charge.

Rietz presented Ladd with the following facts:

On April 17, 2014, Daniel was a foster child in the home of Kennedy who was also the primary caretaker for another 2-year-old foster child and his own 3-year-old child.

On that morning, the infant had a visit with his biological mother but about 5 p.m., Kennedy called paramedics to his home, reporting that Daniel was choking on his formula. The baby was taken to Carle Foundation Hospital because he was not breathing and had been vomiting.

Doctors found that Daniel had suffered fractured ribs and bleeding in the brain, Rietz said.

“The injuries were found to be non-accidental, caused by an adult level of force,” she told Ladd. Doctors also said the injuries appeared to be about two hours old.

Kennedy admitted that he was the sole caretaker of Daniel two hours earlier. Rietz said the explanation he gave for the child’s condition was inconsistent with the baby’s injuries.

Daniel was declared brain dead on April 23.

After hearing the brief summary of facts, Ladd looked at the attorneys and said, “I won’t accept this plea.”

“I don’t believe this is an appropriate resolution,” she said calmly. “I simply cannot go along with the agreement as proposed.”

Ladd was a prosecutor for 17 years before taking the bench in 1999 and spent several years in abuse and neglect court prosecuting adults for child abuse.

Rietz said after the hearing that she understood the judge’s concerns and would continue to negotiate with Patel or try the case.

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2015-04-17/judge-rejects-plea-child-abuse-death.html

 

[Nell]

Hahaha! Good job judge. Fuck this guy.

 

[sinfulplezurz702]

Judge Heidi Ladd...you are wonderful!

 

[Lauralye]

Damn ... when will people start using their brains..stop..take their self out of a situation.. QUIT hurting and killing these innocent children... This judges name and her decision need to go viral... Let these child abusers know they are not gonna get away with it...

I would love to be a foster..not saying they would let me... but the idea of showing these kids the love they deserve... You get visions in your head of a lot of hugging and playing.. BUT... That's not the reality... Most of these kids have been badly abused.. So while I may want to fix them by love ..they on other hand will most likely just be doing a lot of screaming and crying... And the reality for me is I dont have a lot of patience to handle all that ..so even though my heart says YES ..I have to accept I could not do it...half of these morons do it all for the WRONG reasons.

 

[thatsmallgrl]

Champaign County’s top prosecutor has dismissed murder charges against a Rantoul man accused of killing his infant foster son more than two years ago, citing the changed opinions of medical experts and additional evidence produced after the charges were filed as factors in her decision.

Patrick Kennedy, 37, whose last known address was in the 400 block of East Belle Avenue, had been charged in May 2014 in connection with the April 23, 2014, death of Daniel Lindholm-Wilkins, 7 weeks.

The unresponsive infant was taken to Carle Foundation Hospital shortly after 5 p.m. on April 17 with bleeding in the brain and rib fractures. He was declared brain dead six days later.

“Based on additional evidence we received after (Kennedy) had agreed to plead guilty, we submitted the case to an independent medical expert who disagreed with the conclusions that our original doctor had provided to us. Based on that, we determined we were unable to proceed with our case,” said Champaign County State’s Attorney Julia Rietz.

As Kennedy’s criminal case was pending, the state’s attorney’s office was also proceeding with a case against Kennedy and his wife, Theresa, in juvenile abuse and neglect court regarding the couple’s own son, then 3.

That abuse and neglect case was filed on May 6, 2014, a day after Theresa Kennedy had posted bond for her husband to be released from the county jail.

Rietz said Kennedy eventually surrendered his parental rights to his own child. The couple also divorced in April 2015.

Just days after the rejected guilty plea, Kennedy sent to Judge Richard Klaus, who was then presiding in the abuse case, a printout of an email that reportedly came from his wife.

Purportedly written in June 2014, the email said she had been upset with the infant on the morning of April 14, 2014, and had “thrown” him into his car seat.

Rietz said her office then presented that scenario, along with the observations of other adults who had seen Daniel early on April 14, to the original doctor who examined Daniel.

Rietz said the doctors, after reviewing the scenarios, found that the baby’s injuries — instead of happening just two hours before he went to the hospital — could have happened in the early morning and the symptoms of lethargy and not eating could have been developing throughout the day, leading up to the projectile vomiting that prompted Kennedy to call paramedics to his home.

“At this point, we don’t believe we can proceed on our case against Patrick Kennedy. We are filing pleadings in the juvenile abuse and neglect case regarding the surviving child,” she said.

“I’ve had four different attorneys on my staff working on this case,” Rietz said, adding all four agree a murder conviction for Patrick Kennedy based on the evidence they have would be unlikely.

“It’s frustrating but I have a responsibility to do justice. I also have a responsibility to charge cases that have a reasonable likelihood of success. So at this point, we are focusing on the child welfare case,” she said.

Rietz noted that there is no statute of limitations regarding the filing of murder charges should police develop more information.

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2016-09-07/rantoul-mans-murder-charges-dismissed.html